There aren’t many characters more powerful than Hulk in Marvel Comics. The big green guy keeps getting stronger and stronger as he grows angrier, and there isn’t a limit to how powerful Hulk can become before he reaches the end. This creates a problem in Marvel Comics as creators try to figure out villains that can realistically present a danger for the Green Goliath. However, over the years, writers have indeed found ways to create problems, whether it is slightly depowering Hulk, giving him mental blocks that stop him from gaining an advantage, or by presenting even more powerful villains for him to battle.
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Since Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created Hulk in 1962, creators have found several villains who not only present a problem for the big guy, but some who have even taken him down — even if only momentarily. Here is a look at the most powerful Hulk villains in comics, whether by brute strength or cunning and brilliant planning.
10) Abomination
When Marvel wants to create a powerful Hulk villain, the best bet is to find another Gamma-radiated monster to throw at him. There are several Gamma heroes and villains in Hulk comics, but the most famous remains Abomination. What Marvel Comics did here was smart. Abomination is Emil Blonsky, a man who possesses the strength of Hulk, but maintains his intelligence, something Hulk has only sporadically possessed throughout his life. When Abomination fights a calm Hulk, Abomination is stronger and smarter.
However, when Hulk gets angrier, his strength rises. This is not a power Abomination has. The angrier Hulk gets, the stronger he gets, and then he easily overpowers Abomination. The best bet for Emil is to attack a calm Hulk and beat him quickly before the rage overcomes the hero. Of course, Smart Hulk thinks on a higher level than Abomination, so Hulk could still win thanks to planning and strategy, making Emil a powerful villain, but on the lower end of the spectrum.
9) Absorbing Man
It seemed somewhat shocking to realize that the villain from the first Hulk movie in 2003 was a take on The Absorbing Man. In that film, director Ang Lee made up some unique items that were different spins of comic stories, making Hulk’s dad a man named David Banner, and blaming him for Bruce’s trauma. While it is true that Bruce’s dad (Brian in the comics) was responsible for Bruce becoming Hulk and having no control, he was never the Absorbing Man. Instead, Absorbing Man from the comics is Crusher Creel, which is very different from what he film showed.
Absorbing Man has the power to absorb anything he touches and gain its density. If he touches adamantium or vibranium, he can do major damage to Hulk in a fight. However, touching water or paper could likely allow him to escape the battle. In some cases, Absorbing Man can steal someone’s powers as well, including that of Hulk. However, Hulk can get stronger as he grows angrier, so like Abomination, Absorbing Man is limited and can’t match Hulk in a longer fight.
8) U-Foes
While this might seem like a cheat since it is four people and not just one, the U-Foes have been some of Hulk’s most persistent and powerful enemies since Smart Hulk first appeared back in 1980. The U-Foes are simply the villain version of the Fantastic Four, with the same origin story. They wanted to take a flight into space, were told it couldn’t happen thanks to the dangers, did it anyway, and came back with powers. The difference is that they did it purposefully, wanting to replicate the Fantastic Four. However, they struggle to control their powers, unlike the Fantastic Four.
Vector can repel and attract matter and can fly. Vapor can turn into any sort of gas. X-Ray has an energy-based body and can shoot radiation blasts. Ironclad has a metal body and can change his density. Together, they offer more than enough problems for Hulk. To understand their powers, in the Maestro universe, Vapor was powerful enough to kill Hercules, and they have always been a thorn in Hulk’s side throughout the years.
7) Zzzax
Fans of Marvel animation have seen Hulk and Iron Man team up to battle Zzzax, and the villain provided more than enough of a threat to two of the Avengers’ heavy hitters. Zzzax is an electromagnetic being, and he has tremendous strength and the ability to generate massive levels of electricity. He also isn’t a real human and was created when a terrorist attack caused an explosion that created him.
Zzzax is similar to X-Ray in the U-Foes, but on a much higher level. He can also control his powers much better than X-Ray and is strong enough to keep Hulk fighting for an extended period. However, Zzzax has never beaten Hulk, and likely won’t ever beat him, holding him down from other powerful villains on the list.
6) Bi-Beast
Bi-Beast is not only one of Hulk’s most powerful villains, but he is also one of Marvel Comics’ most powerful villains, with one major disadvantage. Bi-Beast is a two-headed android created by a subspecies group of Inhumans. What is really interesting about the Bi-Beast is that he has two heads, and each head has its own mind and decision-making skills. If the two heads don’t agree on something, he can’t achieve his goals and is easily defeated.
However, when the two heads work together, Bi-Beast is extremely powerful. In terms of physical strength, he rivals Hulk and can go toe-to-toe with the big guy on even ground. With the two heads, he is also one of the smartest Hulk villains since two heads are better than one, as long as they both agree. Bi-Beast is a planet-level threat and has fought Hulk, She-Hulk, The Thing, and Thor to a standstill more than once. He is also unstoppable since, when he dies, new versions appear with all the memories of the past versions.
5) The Leader
One of the most powerful Hulk villains is not the strongest by any means. The Leader is the equivalent of Lex Luther to Superman. While Hulk can beat up almost anyone on the planet, it takes a brilliant mind to slow him down. Samuel Sterns is The Leader, and he has super-genius intelligence. Just like how Hulk has unlimited strength when he gets angry enough, The Leader has unlimited intelligence. He also has a brain so big that it includes telepathy and telekinesis.
The Leader is also vindictive and has gone a very long way to destroy Hulk’s life, including when he manipulated the Below-Place and the Green Door (which was the afterlife for Gamma beings, and the Green Door was how they always returned to life). His intense intellect almost destroyed every Gamma hero, and it shows that his brain is more powerful than almost any other villain’s brawn.
4) Red Hulk
The Red Hulk was one of Hulk’s most powerful villains before he ever gained Gamma powers. That is because Red Hulk is Thunderbolt Ross. When he was a regular human, Ross was a military man and he had the power of the U.S. armed forces at his beck and call as he hunted down and tormented both Hulk and Bruce Banner for years. With the law on his side, Ross was easily one of the most powerful enemies that Hulk ever had. When he gained his own Gamma powers, he jumped a spot in power levels.
There is one thing that holds back Red Hulk. When the regular Hulk uses too much energy, he gets angrier, and then he gets stronger. When Red Hulk uses too much energy, he almost burns out and needs to rest. However, like Abomination, Red Hulk has the advantage of having full use of his intellect and strategic military training. Alternatively, like Abomination, he doesn’t get stronger as he goes on, so Hulk still has the advantage if he can keep the battle going.
3) Brian Banner
This is a weird villain since Brian Banner is dead. However, that does not stop the man from continuing to hurt his son, Bruce. Brian Banner is Bruce’s father, and he was an abusive parent who killed his wife in front of his son. He then made Bruce feel like a monster just for being smart, which Brian believed made Bruce a freak. He gaslighted Bruce as a child after killing his wife, and that is what helped create the split personality that carried over to adulthood when Hulk and Bruce ended up as two different mental beings.
Brian’s use of Gamma in his own body helped ensure that Bruce became Hulk after his gamma incident. Brian remains there to haunt Bruce in his mind, and he can hurt Hulk in ways that no one else can. Brian ended up in the Below-Place, which played out in the Immortal Hulk storyline, and he teamed with Leader to torment and almost defeat Hulk once and for all. While Leader has the brains, Brian has something no one else has — the ability to shatter Hulk and Bruce from inside their own brain.
2) Thanos
Thanos has always been a villain for the entire Marvel Universe. However, he and Hulk have a strong history, and there was even a comic book series called Thanos vs. Hulk in 2014 by Jim Starlin that had the two heavy hitters going to war against each other. This ended up playing out on the big screen as well when Thanos beat Hulk so bad that he wouldn’t even come out when the Earth needed him the most. In the comics, it was just as lopsided. Hulk had never beaten Thanos in a fight for most of their battles.
This finally changed in The Incredible Hulk Annual (2024) #1. Finally, after years of Thanos almost always beating Hulk or coming to a draw, Hulk beat down Thanos in impressive fashion. However, even in this issue, where he had Thanos down on his knees, Hulk didn’t beat him on his own, and Colleen Wing helped with the power of the Mind Stone before Hulk finally knocked him out. Hulk has still never completely beaten Thanos in a one-on-one battle.
1) Maestro
If there is one person who might be stronger than The Hulk, it is the most powerful version of The Hulk. Maestro is Hulk from an alternate future where nuclear war killed almost everyone on the planet, but Hulk survived and then finally went over the edge. Hulk took over and became the ruler of his own city of survivors, renaming himself Maestro. He then proceeded to kill all of his enemies, one at a time, no matter how powerful they were. Maestro even found a way to kill Hercules.
When the 616 Hulk ended up in his world, he couldn’t even beat Maestro because his future self had become as amoral as they come, while Hulk still had his soul intact. However, Hulk found a way to at least escape Maestro when he tricked him into going to the original site of the Gamma attack and seemingly defeating him via time travel. Even that couldn’t end him, as Maestro’s body rebuilt itself. While considered dead now, like Hulk, he will likely resurrect again and live to the end of time.
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